About this book

In all countries of the European Union, the Muslim communities represent a substantial religious minority. It has been calculated that there are about 14,400,000, although this is an estimate. This is certainly a very varied group both in terms of religious practice and national origin. The very weight of this minority and the fact that the stock of immigrants already settled there are destined to attract new fluxes force the legal systems to come to terms with this presence, to change. However, these shifts are highly diversified and changeable, not necessari1y inspired by growing tolerance. This volume intends to provide a brief sketch of these changes, describing the situation of some member countries of the European Union and of one of the countries candidate far the second group of entries, Romania. The work also contains an initial tentative comparison between European countries and the USA, made by Jocelyne Cesari, and an overall analysis of the problems posed by the Islamic